Perhaps there’s no question to the notion that attendance, attentiveness and work ethic on the part of a student and funding and curriculum from the district contribute to student success, whether in the Jackson-Madison County Schools System or the private sector.

What may be missing from the equation of success, or at least not realized or discussed, is parental involvement.

After all, with parental engagement, whether with homework, school events or the like, a student develops and practices a love of learning — at least that’s what studies like Waterford.org's say.

The best predictor of academic achievement is the extent to which families encourage learning at home and how involved parents are in a child’s education, according to Waterford.org.

That counters the notion that student achievement depends on socio-economic status or a school’s prestige.

And, from the experiences of a JMCSS principal and school board member as well as parents, parent engagement can be at the cornerstone of student success.

David Wicker, the principal of West Bemis Middle School, said in south Jackson, it’s almost integrated in the community that parents are involved.

“We have some who don’t have as much involvement, but other parents kind of make up for that,” he said.

West Bemis doesn’t have a PTO because no one has been able to fill the role of president, but Wicker said parents are open to any calls for action or help.

Wicker said the school community is also fortunate to have Fellowship Bible Church, which he can not only call on but also garner further parent support.

“I just call the church and say, ‘Hey, I need 400 hot dogs. Can you fire up the grill for me and I’m going to invite families to come out and talk about testing?’ ” Wicker said. “While parents are there, we kind of drop on them we’re going to do fundraising.”

Board member A.J. Massey said it's evident in high-performing schools that parental involvement is one of the differentials.

He said Hands Up! Preschool, which is not a part of JMCSS, requires parental involvement through volunteer hours and said the model is something he would recommend.

“We can’t require that, but just looking at the correlation between the (volunteer) hours given and the scores of the students, parental involvement is one of the differentials, whether south, middle or north (Jackson),” Massey said about a month ago after a meeting.

While not all schools have a PTO, East Elementary School has stayed strong in part due to its PTO.

Look at PTO and its impact

“You rescued us when I first came on board here,” Judy Record, East Elementary’s principal, said about PTO President Jennifer Latham at a March PTO meeting.

The scene of that PTO meeting shows just how much gets done with the help of parents in collaboration with teachers.

For example, the East PTO recently bought four computers and fifth grade science books to prepare for TNReady tests. The group organizes fundraisers and events, like skate and movie nights, Teacher Appreciation Week and Field Day.

Parents like Latham, who has been involved with the PTO for six years, take a week off from work for the week of Field Day.

Through its fundraiser of selling Jack Link's, the PTO profits about $8,500, which deferred the costs of Field Day shirts, which cost only $5, and would be used for playground equipment that can cost up to $10,000.

Furthermore, if it wasn’t for parents, the school wouldn’t have a yearbook this school year.

Even though the organization won’t be sponsoring a yearbook, Latham said 99% of work from PTO secretary Melissa Childress and 1% of her own work put together the keepsake.

“It means a lot to see people involved, invested and want to come hear about what’s going on in our schools,” Latham said at the meeting last month. “We’re doing some great things.”

Lasherica Thornton is The Jackson Sun's education reporter. Reach her at 731-425-9639 or by email at lthornton@jacksonsun.com. Follow her on Twitter @LashericaT.